January 31, 2016
(95 F 33.2C - 65-85% humidity)
Dearest Friends and family
CIBS BUILDING
The Bible School classroom is finished. I painted the floor in the library and
the desks are in place in the classroom. It took over a week of cutting out
and welding the frames, after that building and putting the parts together and
painting. I made the teacher lecture stand and painted it red to keep the students
awake. The white board I had to make with white laminate glued to a piece of
masonite board and glued to the wall with a frame of mahogany to keep it in
place. You have to do what needs to be done when nothing is available here.
Finished student desks
Each desk will seat two students with flip up lids so they can keep items in the desks. Again like the library the desk tops are discarded tops I picked up when building cabinets in Joplin and shipped them to Fiji in our personal container in 2007. I had a whole lot and was able to salvage enough for our needs. Some had gotten wet in Fiji when the container flooded. Goman was trying the desk out for practical use.
Goman is working on the kitchen and toilet for the students
and we hope to have it done mid February.
Government schools start classes February 8th and I hope to get everything into place to get CIBS started by the second term. It just take time, time and time and a half.
kitchen walls above and toilet foundation below
THIS 'N' THAT
CHICKENS
The chickens are 7 1/2 weeks old and they are being sold. I had over
80, Goman 75 and Sul 49. We have already killed and eaten one. It was just under
5 kilo/ 11 pounds. They can sure put away the feed and most of it is full of
weevils. We will keep a dozen or so and let grow them a couple of weeks more
before killing an freezing them. The ones we are selling are for 1,000 Vt (less
than $10 USD) as live birds and the people here love that because the birds
are so fat with lots of meat and they get to eat the heart, liver, feet and
head. Imported Chicken is selling for 1,500-1,900 Vt per kilo or $6.50-$8.50
per pound.
We have asked for new day old birds the first of March but with no flights coming in from New Zealand now (see story below) it is hard to get into a cycle to raise and sell chickens.
One of the blessings has been the amount of meat on larger birds will last us a week of meals. So Kathy is cutting them up before freezing so it is more manageable and we don't have to have chicken EVERY meal for a week if she cooks one.
Once we started growing chickens again the rats came from the neighbors. I put out poison baits and killed a few. This one came out from under the container for water and died, just under 12 inches. Did someone say LUNCH????????
GARDEN
With the dearth of rain I have been watering but not to much avail.
The beans have dried up and the tomatoes do not have a variance of 5 degree
C so they are not producing fruit. (I know how they feel as with no variance
of temps AM to PM just surviving is the means to the end.) I did however this
afternoon pick the pineapple that was growing in the back yard. We also had
the big stock of banana ripen this month. The problem is they ALL ripened at
once under the verandah, so lots of banana bread in the future. We have lots
of pawpaws growing again after the cyclone.
RAIN
We had one day of rain in January and since then it has been very hot/humid
weather. The variation of temperature from day to night is less that 2 degrees
(4 F): 28-33 C., humidity This make for very restless nights and a sweat-wet
bed. We are still in El Nino and they say we might have drought until May or
June. In January there were two cyclones that developed East of us but they
stayed well away from our shores.
MEDICAL
I go through at least 6 shirt changes a day and I have severe heat rash
on my back constantly.
I have been having hive breakouts (last three weeks) whenever I come in at night and sit down after working and especially early morning before I get up. They just whelp up real big on my legs, arms and waist. They itch something furious!!!! They go away after I spray them with window cleaner (the ammonia knocks the itch down) and I get to working ( a cup of coffee helps also!). The doctor has two thoughts, 1 - worms; 2 - a blood disorder. The worm meds did not work and the blood work-up came back as normal (I know hard to believe - me - normal!). At first I thought I might be getting bitten by fleas or sand fleas or even mosquitoes at night, since I do not sleep under sheets with the heat. I wear the insecticide bands on my ankles (yes, one for each leg - a fashion statement) but still get the hives. Pass the window cleaner!!
Swelling in Kathy's ankle has not ever gone down completely since she twisted it nine weeks ago and it is still painful to walk on. She needs a ultrasound or MRI which are not available in this country but we have a specialist coming Feb 6th which she is booked to see who is bringing an ultrasound machine with her. If it is what we think it is, a snapped tendon/ligament, we might have to come back and get her treated in the USA. We are supposed to come back in May for the VA evaluation for me but we might have to come back earlier. Please pray for healing!!!!!!
THE DODGE RAM 2500 TRUCK
I welded and remounted the back bumper. I am waiting on parts to put
in the license plate lighting. However Goman needed use of it so I insured it
and he took it to town and got it inspected. Because he knew the guys they only
asked for head and brake lights and horn. Wa-la inspection passed w/o license
plate lighting. So now I only have to get it registered the next time we go
to town. IT'S WHO YOU KNOW!!!!!!
TEACHING
I taught, on Sunday, at Epau and Eton (3x) this month.
Kathy and I celebrated our 46th Wedding anniversary on January 17th. The present she asked for was a new larger toilet seat which I was more than happy to give her. Love that practical woman!!!!! We did go out for Beef rib pizza when were in town last Friday.
GOVERNMENT VANUATU STYLE
This last month was the culmination of a bribery court case in which
16 members of Parliament (out of 52 total MP's) were on trial for taking funds
(up to a $10,000 USD - 1,000,000 Vt LOAN) from another MP to get his Prime Minister
elected when they had a vote of no confidence (he was the puppeteer behind the
new Prime Minister). Two MPs turned state's evidence and the other 14 (loaner
and loanees) are now in prison for two years.
A snap election was called this past week after the Prime Minister could not field a government (the majority now being in prison) and he would not work with the opposition. Even so, ten of the jailed MPs made application to run in the snap election (100,000 Vt = $990 USD filing fee) even though their convictions disallows them from serving in government for 5 years, even if they were NOT in prison. (What were they thinking??? -Oh, probably were not thinking!) The jailed MP's were also given gratuity payments at the end of last year of over $40,000 USD, while in prison awaiting sentencing, by one of the convicted MP who was still serving a Finance Minister before the other MP's went to prison. He did not go to prison because he pled guilty to the bribery charges but he was still serving as Finance Minister. Yes, it boggles the mind! The Finance department has demanded repayment and you will not be surprised if I tell you none of them have repaid the gratuity payment as of this date.
The OFFICIAL results of the snap election are supposed to be out tomorrow and we are hoping for a better government with younger and newer faces then what we have had with the entrenched old poops.
While this has been going on the ONLY runway (only one) in Port Vila has been having problems with the surface. It was supposed to be resurfaced over 10 years ago but government bickering kept it from being resurfaced. Well, the blacktop has been falling apart and it came to a head last week with Air New Zealand, Qantas, Solomon Airlines and Virgin Blue refusing to land here until the runway is fixed. Air Niugini and Fiji Airways are still considering. The local airlines, Air Vanuatu, is still flying though. These are all jet airplanes that can suck up pieces of pavement but we still have island prop airplanes who can still land. The word is a decision will be made next week (Feb 8th) when the new government sits - if they can get an agreement. Even then repairs cannot happen until the contract is let and only then supplies will be on the first boat which will take several weeks at the least.
Everyone is affected by this. Tourism is the main money earner and there will be no tourists flying in until the runway is resurfaced. Cruise ship visitors are still coming but they don't stay in resorts or eat here. Our mail comes by plane from Australia - not any longer - no mail until further notice, even DHL and courier service. The mommas who sell cooked and raw food to resorts out here by the village no longer have a money source and the new school term starts in two weeks with school fees due the first day. The resorts who have rebuilt after cyclone Pam will not be able to reopen as planned as there are no tourists.
Oh, did I mention that that pretty much traps us on Vanuatu with very, very limited seating leaving Vanuatu to the outside world.
Did I tell you that Vanuatu is number 1 on the UN list of nations most affected by natural disasters?
And that's how it is in "paradise"????
Onward
and upward!
Thank you so much for all of you who are praying for us, supporting us and
have contributed to our needs. God bless you! Thank you for your prayers and
fellowship!
Thank you Lord for healing and providing what we need!
Grace & Peace
Tobey & Kathy Huff
Ph: (678) 596-4821 (Vanuatu) We do texting.
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Contributions for the Huffs, the
Bible school, the Scholorship fund and/or cyclone/drought relief can be sent
to:
Huffs/Bible School
c/ Mt Hope church of Christ
2830 Mt Hope Rd
Webb City MO 64870
or
Jason Huff
2730 E 24th St
Joplin MO 64804
(417) 396-9122
j13huff@yahoo.com